Car review: Volvo XC60, D5 AWD Auto R-Design Lux Nav

Want to be a caravan pro? Just steer in the right direction, says David Williams
Towing the way: instructor Keith Rogers teaches David Williams the moves in the Volvo at the training school in West Sussex

I’m at the wheel of the caravanning fraternity’s poster boy — Volvo’s handsome, outgoing XC60 — in a large gravel car park with the window down, staring hard into an outsize pair of clip-on extension mirrors.

Behind me, in the reflection, I see an impossibly small slot I’m meant to reverse into on my right, at a right angle to the car.

If I lean out for a close-up, there’s a big white caravan blocking my view.

“Nice and slow,” says instructor Keith Rogers who, minutes earlier, helped me attach the XC60’s removable tow hook and hitch up the training caravan. “Trust me, full steering lock to the left and ease on the power.”

It all seems wrong — exactly the opposite to what I’d be doing if I wasn’t towing. I creep back and — magically — the caravan, previously in line with the Volvo, takes on a life of its own and begins arcing right into the centre of the bay.

“Call it a pitch, that’s what you’ll be aiming for on a campsite,” says Rogers, a towing instructor with the Caravan and Motorhome Club.

Inching backwards and taking advantage of the R Design Lux Nav XC60’s smooth automatic gearbox, I watch the inside wheel of the caravan as instructed, and at the split second it stops rotating — indicating that the home-on-wheels is now pivoting around it — ease off the throttle, allowing the diesel engine to idle.

“Now, full lock right while you go back a couple of feet to straighten up the Volvo, too,” shouts Rogers as, miraculously, the caravan rolls right into the pitch, perfectly square-on.

If I’d been on a campsite I’d have expected a round of applause.

It’s very addictive and, after a few practice runs — sometimes incorporating small corrective shunts forwards to square up — it becomes second nature.

It’s a great example of how training makes caravanners better, safer drivers, not just on the campsite but on the road too — helping avoid the tailbacks you sometimes encounter on country roads or motorway service areas during the summer rush.

How often have you reached the head of a queue to find a flustered caravanner — partner standing in attendance, flapping their arms — as they make numerous doomed assaults on a parking slot?

“It’s all about training and familiarisation,” explains Rogers, who is teaching me at the L-Busters Towing Training School near Henfield, West Sussex, where the club sends Londoners. “Many caravanners don’t know what they’re missing.”

The £170 one-and-a-half day course begins with an informative classroom session covering essentials such as correct loading (vital to avoid instability), legal requirements and how to properly match a tow car to a caravan.

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For a novice, it’s fascinating, but for caravan owners it’s the stuff of life or death. Rogers explains how to avoid snaking (the cause of nasty accidents on faster roads, leading to dramatic rollovers) and how to cope with being buffeted by coaches on motorways.

He explains how to avoid pitching (when the caravan nose “bounces” along, unsettling the car), correct use of extension mirrors (a legal requirement when towing) and how to position the vehicle on the road for maximum safety and observation. “You need a commanding position, so other drivers understand your intention,” says Rogers, who has toured most of the UK and parts of continental Europe with family and white box in tow.

Next, I’m shown how to hitch up before I practise weaving between cones and reversing in a straight line (“if the caravan begins to fill one of your mirrors, steer towards that mirror to get it back online”).

More challenging is reversing around a long curve (“You’ve already got a head start with that lovely Volvo’s torquey engine, powered steering, four wheel drive and auto gearbox”).

Then — this has to be organised by special arrangement — we hit the road. After my exercises off-road, I do indeed feel in command as we negotiate multi-lane A-roads, roundabouts, tight, winding country roads and a town centre. It’s all about planning well ahead, leaving extra room when turning — and watching those mirrors like a hawk.

I may not be up to Rogers’s standard yet (he recently towed a caravan right through central London, a nightmare scenario for most caravanners) but I’ve got the bug.

The night before I cheated by experiencing a taste of caravanning at the club’s site in Brighton — in a sleek Peugeot motorhome. Next time, I’ll tow a caravan there and, fingers crossed, slot it on the pitch in one slick, practised manoeuvre.

PITCH UP AND MAKE EXTRA SPACE ON TOUR

Want to make caravan holidays more tempting for teens? Give them their own ‘bedroom’ — and Halfords’ range of tents work a treat.

We tried the £60 Urban Escape Four Man Quick-Up Dome Tent, and our own teens — including Anna — loved it.

Spacious and smart, it took 10 minutes to put up, its integrated poles making it easy to pitch.

Bonuses include hi-viz guy lines (no tripping over at night), air vents, a wide-opening entrance and claimed suitability for heavy rain (we were lucky, as it was sunny). It is double-skinned, but weighs only 5.4kgs.

Disadvantages? You’d have to be very good friends to squeeze four in; we think it’s better for two people. It’s also trickier to put down than up, but we managed eventually.

Packed, it measures just 87 x 19 x 19cm; perfect for the boot or roofbox.

More at halfords.com

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